Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
5,861,336 games: White 49.4% / Draw 5.1% / Black 45.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,106,3472.1M | ||
| 1,690,3391.7M | ||
| 1,574,3601.6M | ||
| 172,681173K | ||
| 155,108155K | ||
| 38,34138K | ||
| 35,82236K | ||
| 23,74424K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.12 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... a6 6. O-O d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. Bxd5 O-O 9. c3 a5 10. h3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 53% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 5.5M | |
| 1400–1799 | 6.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 167K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,906 |
Master games
- Kramnik, V. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Vidit, S.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Aronian, L.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – So, W.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation (ECO C50, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 (5 moves).
In 5,861,336 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.4%, Black 45.6% and 5.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…d6, in 36% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Canal Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation
5…h6 scores best for Black: 49.9%, with Black winning 47.0% and White 47.2% of 1.7M games. The most played, 5…d6, scores 49.6% in 2.1M games, and 5…O-O scores lowest: 45.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…a6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.21% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.17% (its peak: 0.26% in 2021).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.17% | 61,232 |
| 2017 | 0.18% | 99,591 |
| 2018 | 0.18% | 140,777 |
| 2019 | 0.19% | 232,833 |
| 2020 | 0.24% | 703,483 |
| 2021 | 0.26% | 1,016,202 |
| 2022 | 0.24% | 904,777 |
| 2023 | 0.23% | 873,110 |
| 2024 | 0.22% | 788,784 |
| 2025 | 0.21% | 732,876 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.21% | 225,882 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation (C50)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-giuoco-pianissimo-italian-four-knights-variation